Bridgeview, Ill. (April 19, 2009) – On a harsh, rainy day, Sky Blue FC withstood a first-half barrage from the Chicago Red Stars to claim a point on the road with a 0-0 tie in Women’s Professional Soccer action. The game was the home opener for the Red Stars at Toyota Park with 5,824 fans braving the conditions.

Despite a strong showing after halftime, Sky Blue FC couldn’t find the back of the net. Fortunately for the visitors, their defense was good enough to hold the Red Stars. Sky Blue FC goalkeepers Karen Bardsley and Jenni Branam split the shutout – Sky Blue FC’s first of the season – with Bardsley recording four saves before leaving the game at halftime with back spasms. Branam posted two saves in the second half.

For the game, Chicago held a 19-8 advantage in shots with most of those coming in the first half, but Sky Blue FC had the more dangerous chances in the game.

“It was great to be a part of history here in Chicago – it was a good crowd and the fans in Chicago are hardcore just like the fans in New Jersey,” said Sky Blue FC Head Coach and General Manager Ian Sawyers. “Coming away with the point on the road is not the perfect outcome. We played much better in the second half and created more chances.”

With the tie, Sky Blue FC stands at 0-1-2 for two points and fifth place in WPS. Chicago now stands at 1-0-2 for five points and third place.

In the opening half, the Red Stars had the better of the play holding a 13-3 advantage in shots while earning 10 corner kicks but the home side couldn’t find the back of the net.

In the 21st minute, Sky Blue FC nearly opened the scoring. Sarah Walsh carried forward before placing a perfectly-weighted splitting ball into the box. Fellow Australian Collette McCallum flew in on the left and beat Red Stars keeper Caroline Jonsson to the ball but her soft chip skimmed off the top of the bar and over.

For the rest of the first half, Sky Blue FC did well to avoid giving up a goal as Chicago pressed. In the 35th minute, Sky Blue FC keeper Karen Bardsley came well off her line to challenge Megan Rapinoe, who controlled the ball along the endline before firing over the goal from an angle. Seconds later, Carli Lloyd went right at Bardsley from distance.

In the 39th minute, the Red Stars came close off a crazy sequence. Karen Carney served a ball in from the right that was flicked on goal by Christiane but Sky Blue FC defender Keeley Dowling was there to clear the ball off the line. On the ensuing play, Rapinoe attempted a bicycle kick from just inside the box that was tipped over the bar by Bardsley.

Right before the halftime whistle, Carney blasted a free kick that was punched over by Bardsley, who took no chances in the wet conditions.

Sky Blue FC came out strong after the break and created the best chances in the second half. The visitors almost made a statement early when Kacey White served in a nice ball in the 48th minute but Julianne Sitch couldn’t turn her header on goal.

In the 61st minute, Sky Blue FC responded with a great counter attack started by Heather O’Reilly, who carried forward before leading Walsh on the right. Her cross went all the way past the goal before finding White on the other side of the box. White cut the ball back for McCallum but her first-time shot went over the goal from eight yards out.

After McCallum missed the far post from an angle off a nice feed from O’Reilly in the 73rd minute, Sky Blue FC came up with a pretty buildup eight minutes later orchestrated by White in the center of the park. At the end of the possession, White found second-half substitute Natasha Kai and she evaded a defender at the top of the box before blasting a shot that was stopped by Jonsson.

The Red Stars gave their fans a glimmer of hope and Sky Blue FC a big scare in the closing seconds of stoppage time. The ball fell right to the foot of Lindsey Tarpley at the top of the box, but her hard shot was right at Branam, who held on to save the tie for Sky Blue FC.

Sky Blue FC now travels to Indianapolis to take on FC Indiana on Tuesday night in an exhibition match. The team has next weekend off before returning to WPS action on Sunday, May 3 against FC Gold Pride at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.

April 19, 2009 – Toyota Park	1	2	-	F
Sky Blue FC (0-1-2)	0	0	-	0
Chicago Red Stars (1-0-2)	0	0	-	0

Scoring Summary:
None

Lineups:
Sky Blue FC – 1-Karen Bardsley (GK) (23-Jenni Branam 45’), 38-Julianne Sitch (D), 17-Keeley Dowling (D), 5-Anita Asante (D), 12-Meghan Schnur (D), 20-Kacey White (M), 4-Jen Buczkowski (M), 7-Kelly Parker (M) (6-Natasha Kai 62’), 14-Collette McCallum (F) (10-Yael Averbuch 85’), 9-Heather O’Reilly-Capt. (F), 8-Sarah Walsh (F)

Chicago Red Stars – 1-Caroline Jonsson (GK), 2-Marian Dalmy (D), 4-Ifeoma Dieke (D), 23-Nikki Krzysik (D), 6-Brittany Klein (D) (24-Jill Oakes 76’), 10-Carli Lloyd (M), 12-Chioma Igwe (M), 8-Megan Rapinoe (M), 5-Lindsay Tarpley-Capt. (M), 11-Cristiane (F) (3-Ella Masar 63’), 14-Karen Carney (F)

Referee: Jennifer Bennett
Referee's Assistants: Donald Dellavia; Kristine West
4th official: Stephanie Toth
Attendance: 5,824
Weather: Rainy & 49 degrees

Cautions:
Sky Blue FC – Julianne Sitch 26’, Meghan Schnur 60’
Chicago Red Stars – Ella Masar 78’
 
Ejections:
None

Boxscore (All statistics contained in this boxscore are unofficial.)

POSTGAME QUOTES

SKY BLUE FC COACH IAN SAWYERS

“The game was a pretty exciting for a 0-0 tie, at least from our perspective, with some end to end opportunities.  Obviously we felt like we could have put a few away and I’m sure they feel the same way.  Coming away with an away point is ok, we haven’t quite got there yet.  We’re moderately happy but still proud to be part of a great day here in Chicago.”

On subbing goalkeepers at the half:

“Bardsley got back spasms at halftime.  She was on the training table for a little while and we weren’t sure if she was going to be able to go or not.  We don’t know what it is yet, probably having to make all those saves in the first half.  I don’t know if the cold locked her up or what.  We didn’t really want to (make a switch), but we were forced to do it.”

SKY BLUE FC MIDFIELDER JEN BUCZKOWSKI

“It’s an amazing experience.  Growing up in the area, I’ve gone to Soldier Field to watch the Fire play and obviously come here the last few years.  Just to be able to be here and have the experience myself is unbelievable.

SKY BLUE FC DEFENDER JULIANNE SITCH

“It’s an amazing experience, growing up here and having played with a lot of the girls that were in the crowd to support us.  I just think it’s an amazing atmosphere.  I was very fortunate to have all my friends come out to the game and to get to play in front of them.”

RED STARS COACH EMMA HAYES

“Our game plan was to use as much width as we can.  We’ve been struggling of late to create opportunities out wide.  I thought we did a great job of that.  The girls executed the game plan and the performance was considerably better than the last two games.”

On subbing out Cristiane:

“This was the first time she had started. She’s only been with us a few weeks and was injured up until 10 days ago.  She’s still building her fitness. At sixty minutes we didn’t want to push it, and she was tired to.  It was a good sixty minutes to get under her belt.”

RED STARS MIDFIELDER MEGAN RAPINOE

“(The bicycle kick) was a little far-fetched, but there wasn’t much else I could do with it. I didn’t connect with it that well, but I made a chance and got a corner kick out of it.”

RED STARS FORWARD LINDSAY TARPLEY

“I was really happy with the way we attacked tonight. I was proud of the team and the effort and I’m looking forward to continuing to build over the next few months.”

RED STARS MIDFIELDER CARLI LLOYD

“I went out there and enjoyed it again. I think that’s what I was missing. I didn’t think, I just concentrated on working hard and helping the team. I was over thinking things. For the first time this season I had fun.”